From Mother Africa to Mama Thornton: Queen Latifah, Sexual Desire

Abstract

Hip-Hop may be homophobic, but currently it is one of the few aesthetic spaces where performers can broach issues of sexuality in Black film. To date, Nia Long and Queen Latifah are the only notable Black actresses to portray Black lesbian or bisexual females in mainstream movies. Long’s performances happened in predominantly white venues, If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) and The Broken Hearts Club (2000), and they were done after Latifah’s “controversial” role in Set It Off. Directed by F. Gary Gray, Set It Off was released to mass audiences in 1996. Written by two little known females, Takesha Bufford and Kate Laniee, it looks at what happens when four females in a Los Angeles housing project are pushed to financial and emotional breaking points.